1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pet leash, more particular to a handheld control device for a pet leash.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0230015A1 discloses a conventional handheld control device for a pet leash that can be wound and unwound for leading animals. The conventional handheld control device comprises a hollow housing 1, a braking unit 2, a pushbutton member 3, a pawl member 4, a biasing member 5, and a locking lever 6.
The braking unit 2 includes a spring-loaded braking reel 201 and a rope 202. The braking reel 201 is mounted rotatably around a reel axis in the housing 1 and has a plurality of ratchet teeth 203 angularly spaced apart from one another about the reel axis. The rope 202 is adapted to connect to the pet leash and is operable between winding and unwinding states, where rotations of the braking reel 201 are in winding and unwinding directions (I, II), respectively. The pushbutton member 3 is mounted on the housing 1 to be movable toward the pawl member 4 and includes an actuating end 301, a notch 302, and a pivot pin 303. The actuation end 301 is configured to extend outwardly of the housing 1 for manual operation.
The pawl member 4 is connected pivotally to the pushbutton member 3 through the pivot pin 303 and includes an elongated hole 401 where the pivot pin 303 extends therethrough and a pawl end 402 that is actuated by the pushbutton member 3 to be displaced from a disengaging position, where the braking reel 201 is rotatable in both winding and unwinding directions, to an engaging position, where the pawl end 402 is engaged with a selected one of the ratchet teeth 203 so as to disable rotation of the braking reel 201 in the unwinding direction. The biasing member 5 is for biasing the pawl member 4 toward the disengaging position.
The locking lever 6 includes a power end 601, a first weight end 602, and a second weight end 603. When the power end 601 is operated by a user, the first weight end 602 is brought into engagement with the notch 302 of the pushbutton member 3 and the second weight end 603 is brought into frictional contact with one of the ratchet teeth 203 adjacent to the selected one of the ratchet teeth 203 that engages the pawl end 402, such that the rotation of the braking reel 201 in the winding direction is arrested. Therefore, the length of the rope 202 that extends outwardly of the housing 1 is unchangeable when the locking lever 6 is in a locked state.
However, the configuration of the above-mentioned handheld control device is relatively complicated. Moreover, engaging strength between the second weight end 603 and the one of ratchet teeth 203 is relatively weak, and the pawl end 402 may jump over the selected one of the ratchet teeth 203 of the braking reel 201 due to the restoring force of the biasing member 5. Therefore, control of the length of the rope 202 that extends outwardly of the housing 1 is relatively difficult.